1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer system, a printer apparatus, a printing method, an ink ribbon and a printing medium, and more particularly, is suitably applied to a printer system in which photographic printing is performed by allowing a coloring material to adhere to a printing medium or allowing a printing medium which develops a color by itself to develop the color.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the conventional thermal transfer type printer apparatus, shapes and images such as characters, numerals and figures on the basis of supplied photographic printing data are visibly displayed by thermal transferring of ink such as a dye coated on a surface of an ink ribbon (hereinafter referred to as an ink surface of the ink ribbon) to photographic printing paper.
Prepared in this case as ink ribbons which are to be used for such a thermal transfer type printer apparatus are an ink ribbon which has three ink colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M) and cyanic (C), an ink ribbon which has two ink colors of white (W) and black (Bk), etc. and the ink ribbon of a three-color type is classified into a laminated type, a sticker four division type or the like as shown in FIG. 1.
Since the ink ribbons are prepared in many kinds as described above and different kinds of ink ribbons require different conditions for photographic printing, it is necessary, when using plural kinds of ink ribbons in one printer apparatus, to switch an operation mode to a mode corresponding to an ink ribbon to be used each time an ink ribbon is exchanged with another.
Accordingly, there has been proposed a method which configures a printer apparatus, for example, as shown in FIG. 2 wherein a ring 3 is rotatably disposed at an end of a supply spool 2 for an ink ribbon 1, codes representing a kind code of the ink ribbon 1 and a number of sheets usable for photographic printing are recorded with hot stamps as bar codes on an outer circumferential surface of the ring 3, and on the other hand, the kind code, etc. are read with an inexpensive reflection type sensor on a side of the printer apparatus so that an operation mode can be automatically switched to a corresponding mode on the basis of a read result.
This method automatically switches the operation mode of the printer apparatus to the corresponding mode dependently on a kind of the ink ribbon 1 to be used, thereby preventing a trouble from being caused due to mismatch between the operation mode of the printer apparatus and the kind of the ink ribbon 1 or the like.
However, such a method may allow the bar codes recorded on a circumferential side surface of the ring 3 to be erased or partially cut off due to rubbing, thereby changing data. When the bar codes are erased or altered due to rubbing as described above, the printer apparatus cannot recognize the kind of the ink ribbon 1 correctly, whereby a quality of a photographically printed image may be degraded due to mismatch between an operation mode set by the printer apparatus and the kind of the ink ribbon 1.
On the other hand, ink colors of ink ribbons even of the same kind are liable to be delicately changed dependently on manufacturing lots, whereby balance and densities of colors of photographically printed images may be delicately different even when the same kind of ink ribbon is used.
In order to prevent the balance and the densities of the colors of the photographically printed images from being changed as described above, there has been conceived a method which preliminarily gives data on manufacturing dispersion of an ink ribbon to be used (hereinafter referred to as manufacturing dispersion correcting data) to a printer apparatus, a personal computer which controls the printer apparatus or the like and photographically prints images on the basis of image data which has been corrected on the basis of the manufacturing dispersion correcting data.
As a method of giving the manufacturing dispersion correcting data of the colors of the ink ribbon to the printer or the like in this case, there is available a method which expresses manufacturing dispersion of the ink colors as numerical values and record the numerical values on a surface of a package box of the ink ribbon so that a user can input the numerical values into the printer apparatus or the like when using the ink ribbon.
However, this method makes it necessary for the user to input the manufacturing dispersion correcting data of each ink color of the ink ribbon into the printer apparatus or the like each time the ink ribbon is exchanged with another, thereby posing a problem that it is not convenient to use.
Furthermore, when the user forgets to input the manufacturing dispersion correcting data, this method allows correction processings to be performed on the basis of manufacturing dispersion correcting data which was input precedently, thereby posing a problem that actual manufacturing dispersion of each ink color is mismatched with correction processing by the printer apparatus or the like, and the mismatched correction processing may further degrade balance and densities of colors on photographically printed images, and another problem that similar inconvenience is produced when the package box of the ink ribbon is lost.
As another method to give the manufacturing dispersion correcting data of the ink ribbon to the printer apparatus, it is further conceivable to use a method which records the manufacturing dispersion correcting data together with the type codes or the like with hot stamps on the outer circumferential surface of the ring attached to the supply spool 2 (FIG. 2) described above.
However, the method which records the data with hot stamps allows data to be recorded only in an amount on the order of 12 to 13 bits at most and makes it difficult to reserve a recording capacity sufficient to record the manufacturing dispersion correcting data, and even when hot stamps are forcibly configured by recording the manufacturing dispersion correcting data for each ink color, the method poses a problem of high manufacturing cost since the method requires preparing prints of the hot stamps for each production lot of the ink ribbon and changing these prints each manufacturing lot.
On the other hand, the conventional printer apparatus counts frequency generator (FG) pulses (changing dependently on a winding diameter of the ink ribbon) which are given for a definite section from a driving mechanism section for the ink ribbon at a stage to photographically print an image on a first sheet after a power source is turned on and estimates an approximate residual amount of an ink ribbon on the basis of a count result.
Such a printer apparatus is configured by determining driving voltages for motors which drive the supply spool and the take-up spool for the ink ribbon on the basis of an estimation result and apply driving voltages corresponding to a determination result to these motors, thereby always giving a definite tension to the ink ribbon.
However, this method poses a problem that it is low in accuracy and that it cannot perform correct control of the tension of the ink ribbon since the method performs the tension control on an assumption of, for example, about half an amount at a time to photographically print the image on the first sheet. When the tension of the ink ribbon is not controlled correctly as described above, there is proposed a problem that qualities of photographically printed images are degraded due to printing wrinkles, color deviation in a feeding direction, skew (color deviation in a rotating direction) or the like.
In view of the foregoing, an object of this invention is to provide a printer system, a printer apparatus, a printing method, an ink ribbon and a printing medium which are capable of certainly and effectively preventing qualities of photographically printed images from being degraded without causing trouble to a user.
The foregoing object and other objects of the invention have been achieved by the provision of a printer system composed of a printing medium and a printer apparatus. The printing medium comprises: a first antenna; memory means which stores predetermined control data; and first communicating means which communicates with an outside by way of the first antenna, and reads out the control data out of the memory means and outputs the data to the outside by way of the first antenna in response to a request from the outside. And the printer apparatus comprises: photographic printing means which prints an image on the basis of photographic printing data by allowing the coloring material of the printing medium to adhere to the photographic printing medium or allowing the photographic printing means which develops the color by itself to develop the color; a second antenna which is disposed in correspondence to the first antenna; second communicating means which communicates by non-communication contact with the first communicating means by way of the second and first antennae; and control means which reads out the control data from the storage means by way of the second and first communicating means and executes predetermined control processing on the basis of the control data which is read out.
As a result, according to this printer system, it is possible to effectively prevent data loss and data alteration and also in the printer apparatus it is possible to execute effective photographic printing control on the basis of the control data.
Furthermore, the present invention provides a printing method comprising the steps of: disposing memory means integrally with the photographic printing medium to which the coloring material is to adhere or the photographic printing medium which develops the color by itself and storing predetermined control data into the memory means; and reading out the control data stored in the memory means by the contactless communication and controlling the photographic printing operation on the basis of the control data which is read out.
As a result, according to the printing medium, it is possible to execute effective photographic printing control on the basis of the control data while effectively preventing data loss and data alteration.
Furthermore, the present invention provides a printer apparatus comprising: communicating means which communicates contactlessly with data storage and communicating means which is disposed integrally with the coloring material or the photographic printing medium which develops the color by itself, and has a data storage function and a contactless communicating function; and control means which reads out control data preliminarily stored in the data storage and communicating means by way of the communicating means, and executes predetermined control processing on the basis of the control data which is read out.
As a result, according to this printer apparatus, it is possible to execute effective photographic printing control without having a user input data.by storing the control data necessary for the photographic printing control in the data storage and communicating means.
Furthermore, the present invention provides a printing method comprising the steps of: communicating with data storage and communicating means which is disposed integrally with the coloring material or the photographic printing medium which develops the color by itself and has a data storage function and a contactless communicating function, and reading out control data preliminarily stored in the data storage and communicating means by contactless communication; and controlling an photographic printing operation on the basis of the control data which is read out.
As a result, according to this printing method, it is possible to execute effective photographic printing control without having a user input data by storing the control data necessary for the photographic printing control in the data storage and communicating means.
Furthermore, the present invention provides an ink ribbon comprising: an antenna disposed integrally with the ribbon; communicating means for performing communication with an outside by way of the antenna; and memory means for storing data, wherein the data obtained by the communication with the outside is stored in the memory means at need, and/or the data stored in the memory means is read out at need and output to the outside by the communication.
As a result, this ink ribbon is capable of maintaining data necessary for photographic printing control while effectively preventing data loss and data alteration.
Furthermore, the present invention provides a printing medium comprising: an antenna disposed integrally with the coloring material or the photographic printing medium which develops the color; communicating means for performing communication with an outside by way of the antenna; and memory means for storing data, wherein the data obtained by the communication with the outside is stored into the memory means as occasion demands and/or the data stored in the memory means is read out as occasion demands and output to the outside by the communication.
As a result, this printing medium is capable of maintaining data necessary for photographic printing control while effectively preventing data loss and data alteration.
The nature, principle and utility of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts are designated by like reference numerals or characters.